SET UP.
A
B
E
F
D
C
R
G
O
H
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P
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M
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Q
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J
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MATERIALS
[O] 14-wire ribbon cable
with 2× 7 pin female plug
TOOLS
[A] Vest We chose the Mil
Spec Mesh Vest, $55 from
Icon ( rideicon.com), a high-visibility motorcycling vest
with a handy rear pocket to
hold the electronics.
[H] Triacs, 0.8 amp,
400 volt ( 8) Digi-Key
part #MAC97A6OS-ND,
digikey.com
[B] 26-gauge stranded
insulated 2-conductor wire
[C] Arduino ProtoShield
kit $16 from the Maker Shed
( makershed.com)
[D] Arduino USB microcontroller $35 from SparkFun
Electronics ( sparkfun.com)
or the Maker Shed
Photography by Ed Troxell
[E] Buttoneer with refill
pack of plastic fasteners
or a needle with monofilament thread. The Buttoneer
is $12 from fabrics or sewing
supply stores.
[F] Black denim or thick
cotton cloth, 12"× 12"
[I] 1" heat-shrink tubing
[L] Wheel sensor from a
wired (not wireless) bicycle
speedometer (aka cyclo-computer) The sensor must
perform like a reed switch,
which is binary, rather than
use the magnet on the spoke
to vary the inductance. We
used a Sigma Sport BC 500,
which costs $15, but the city
of Portland gives them to
residents free, to encourage
bicycling! Ask a bike shop
if they can sell you just the
wheel sensor part, without
the computer and display.
[P] White EL wire, 2.5mm,
20' $20 from CooLight
( coolight.com). You’ll need
12 segments of wire, 16" long
with 10" leads. If you don’t
want to cut and solder your
own, the folks at CooLight
can do it for $2.50 per
segment. Also available at
Light ’n Wire productions
( lightnwire.com).
[Q] Foil tape (optional)
if you cut your own EL wire
[NOT SHOWN]
[S] EL wire stripper
(optional) if you cut your
own EL wire
[J] Resistors: 100Ω ( 12),
1kΩ ( 1)
Computer with a USB port
USB cable
[K] Safety pins
or velcro tape
Soldering station
and solder
Needlenose pliers
Multimeter
Scissors
[R] EL wire power supply
We used CooLight part
#CL-IPSF3, $6, which takes
1 AA battery and can light EL
wire segments up to 16" long.
Rigid plastic or cardboard,
9"× 7" sheet
X-Acto knife
Lighter
Reflective tape, 3"× 12" We
used 3M Scotchlite Iron-On
from identi-tape.com. Or use
sew-on reflective letters from
searchgear.com.
Print Gocco screen
printing kit (optional)
available on eBay
[M] Batteries: 9V, 1.5V AA
[G] Small box to house the
control circuit and wires.
[N] 2× 7 male header
Electrical tape
103 Make:
